


Like A Queen

by KittyleFay



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Coming Out, Friendship, Gay Billy Hargrove, Gay Will Byers, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Neil Hargrove Being an Asshole, Season/Series 03 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 08:19:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19422109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyleFay/pseuds/KittyleFay
Summary: Billy and Will have a heart-to-heart.





	Like A Queen

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote something similar to this on tumblr, but I liked it so much that I had to explore it a little further, since there are a lot of parallels between Billy and Will: both sharing the name William, both coming from shitty fathers, both being possessed by the mind-flayer, and both (possibly) being in the closet.

Will was young, but he wasn’t stupid. He saw things. He saw the way Billy wore his earring as if it were a badge of masculinity. He saw the way Billy looked at Steve when no one else did. He saw the way Billy’s father called him a name that he himself was all too familiar with.

“Faggot.”

Everything else that came out of Neil Hargrove’s mouth may well have been a foreign language, but it was that very word that echoed in Will’s brain even long after the man was met with a hard punch to the face. Mind-flayer or not, Billy’s fist looked like it had seen better days. 

Once the man was out of sight and his son inside the cabin with his wounds tended to, Will watched as Billy collapsed to the bed, writhing in agony. His face was pale and soaked with sweat, though some tears could be seen with a closer look. As Joyce wrapped the injured hand in cloth, Will could only watch as Steve held Billy’s hand. There was something between them that only Will knew the name to.

“I’ve never seen him like that,” he heard Max say. “I mean, Neil’s always been an even bigger asshole than he is, if you can believe it, but I’ve never seen Billy stand up to him. Especially not like _that.”_

“He’s angry,” Eleven said simply. “Always angry. Not just at his papa. Something else. It’s why he was chosen.”

“What’s he so angry about?” Mike asked. 

No one answered. At the corner of his eye, Will could see Max biting her lip. She knew the answer, but couldn’t bear to utter it. That much he knew. He didn’t blame her. 

“Those things are all over the place,” Steve said some time later, looking through a crack in the window to see the army of demo-dogs surrounding them and then back to Billy, who had since calmed down and fallen asleep, but was still sweat-soaked and as white as a ghost. “We can fight them off if we stick together, but someone’s gotta look after Billy.”

“I can look after him,” Will said without hesitation. He could feel all his friends staring at him and secretly wished he hadn’t sounded so excited. Steve only looked to him with wide eyed, seeming more surprised than confused. Joyce looked in near panic as she cradled her son’s face in her hands, insisting that she never wanted him anywhere near that _thing_ again. Still, he insisted: “He won’t hurt me, mom. I know he won’t.”

“You’d really do that for him?” Steve asked. Will nodded. “Then I’ll be on guard.”

And so it was. Will could have sat and watched Billy sleep for minutes, hours, or even days before he heard muttering. Billy began to toss and turn in his sleep, mumbling things like “no” or “get away” or “leave me alone” until Will shook him awake. Billy woke up panting as if he’d run a marathon until a glass of water was able to calm him down.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You were dreaming about your dad, weren’t you?” 

Billy didn’t answer. He just continued to drain his glass of water.

“I saw how scared you were when he called you a…well, you know. Does he always call you that?”

Still, no answer.

“My dad’s called me that a couple of times. Some kids at school call me that, too.”

“Your friends don’t,” Billy finally said. 

“That’s ‘cause they don’t know…” 

As Will’s voice began to fade, he could just see the way Billy’s eyes lit up in curiosity.

“They don’t know what, kid?”

Will’s face went red and he shrugged. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. “You know.”

Billy shook his head. “No, I don’t.

Will sighed heavily. “They don’t know that they’re right.”

It took forever for Will to look Billy in the eye. The older boy looked like he’d just been punched in the gut. He sighed in turn and tried to raise his hand for what Will assumed was supposed to be a buddy punch.

“Hey,” he said. “You shouldn’t let ‘em get to you.”

“But they are. I’m a f–”

“Don’t say it!” Will staggered back. Billy had used what little strength he had left to sit up from the bed. His eyes had suddenly gone dark. As dark as they were the moment the _thing_ took over him. “I don’t wanna hear you talking like that, okay?”

Will nodded frantically, holding onto his seat for dear life. He’d made Billy angry, that much he knew and mind-flayer or not, no one wanted to make Billy angry. Strangely, Will felt as though Billy wasn’t angry at _him_. He was angry at his dad and those kids. 

Eventually, his dark eyes and brightened blue and he collapsed back onto the bed with a heavy sigh. “Sorry,” he said. “Look, I know it’s tough–believe me, I know–but what’s beating yourself up gonna do about it, huh? It’s just gonna give all those assholes what they want, isn’t it?”

“But they’re right. I like boys.”

“So does Freddie Mercury. Do you see _him_ being so hard on himself?”

Will’s cheeks went red, but he shook his head. “No.”

“What do you see him doing, then?”

“I dunno.”

“Don’t lie to me, kid. You remember when Live Aid was playing last week, right? I know you and your shithead brother were watching it on TV ‘cause you guys wouldn’t shut up about it. When Queen came on, was Freddie beating himself up? Was he calling himself a faggot?”

Will couldn’t help but smile a little. He had Jonathan to thank for his love for Queen and he still remembered wishing he were there at Live Aid just to see the man himself belting his highest note. “No, he wasn’t.”

“Nah. Sang his heart out, right? Stole the damn show.” 

Finally, a real smile. “Yeah, he did, didn’t he?”

“Sure did. You know how many people call that guy a faggot every day? Probably millions. You think that stops him from living his best life?”

Will shook his head.

“Didn’t think so. Imagine how that makes those people calling him that feel.”

“They probably feel pretty stupid for making fun of him.”

“Exactly. So, next time anyone gives you shit for being who you are, think about Freddie. Think like a queen.”

Will chuckled and nodded, but had to ask: “Is that what you do?”

Billy furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"It's just that I've seen the way you look at Steve. You don't seem to have that much of a problem with liking him, so do you think about Freddie?"

Once again, Billy didn’t answer. He only looked to Steve, who Will could see was smiling sadly at them both.


End file.
